Separate Privacy Setting Control Of Multiple Communication Clients Of A User

1. A communication system comprising: one or more terminals coupled to a packet-based network, installed with a first instance of a communication client application of a first user and a second instance of the communication client application of said first user, the communication client application being configured so as, responsive to execution by at least one processor, to enable the first user to communicate with other users via a first communication system implemented over the packet-based network; and a controller coupled to the packet-based network and configured to: store, at a data storage unit local to the controller, separate privacy settings for each of the first and second instances effective to enable maintaining different privacy settings for each of the first and second instances; and control the privacy of the first user in relation to said other users within the first communication system in dependence on which of the first and second instances is active and the respective privacy setting of said active instance.

2. The communication system of claim 1 , further comprising a first one of said terminals and a second one of said terminals, the first instance of the client application being installed on the first terminal and the second instance of the client application being installed on the second terminal.

3. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second instances of the communication client application are installed on a same terminal of said terminals.

4. The communication system of claim 1 , further configured to: receive an identifier of which instance of the first instance and second instance is currently active, the first instance is associated with a first identifier, the second instance is associated with a second identifier; map the received identifier to the corresponding privacy settings; and control said privacy in dependence on the mapped settings.

5. The communication system of claim 2 , wherein the controller further comprises a respective data storage unit on each of the first and second terminals, thus providing local privacy settings for each of the first and second instances.

6. The communication system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more second servers configured to operate a partner communication system implemented over the packet-based network, the partner communication system providing an additional communication medium in conjunction with the first packet-based communication system, wherein said second instance of the client application is associated with the partner communication system.

7. The communication system of claim 6 , comprising a first terminal of said terminals and a second terminal of said terminals, the first instance of the client application being installed on the first terminal and the second instance of the client application being installed on the second terminal; wherein said one or more second servers comprise at least said second terminal, such that the second terminal is configured to provide access to the first communication system via the partner communication system.

8. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second instances is configured so as, responsive to execution, to enable the first user to communicate with the other users via any of a plurality of different communication media, and the privacy settings determine which of the plurality of communication media the other users can use to contact the first user.

9. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the privacy settings determine whether or not the other users can contact the first user.

10. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the privacy settings determine what information about the first user is made available to the other users.

11. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein: the controller is further configured to maintain separate privacy settings for the first user in relation to each of a first and second group of contacts from amongst said other users, and thereby control the privacy of the first user in relation to said other users within the first communication system in dependence on the group of the other user.

12. The communication system of claim 11 , further comprising one or more second servers configured to operate a partner communication system implemented over the packet-based network, the partner communication system providing an additional communication medium in conjunction with the first packet-based communication system, wherein the controller is configured to automatically determine the group of a contact in dependence on whether initially encountered via the partner communication system.

13. A method implemented by a server, the method comprising: providing, using the server, a first instance of a communication client application to a terminal of a packet-based network for use by a first user, the communication client application being configured so as, responsive to execution, to enable the first user to communicate with other users via a first communication system implemented over the packet-based network, the first instance of the communication client application associated with a first set of privacy settings; providing, using the server, a second instance of the communication client application to a terminal of a packet-based network for use by said first user, the second instance of the communication client application associated with a second set of privacy settings; and storing, at the server, the first set of privacy settings and the second set of privacy settings separately effective to: maintain, with the server, different privacy settings for the first instance and the second instance; control the privacy of the first user in accordance with the first set of privacy settings each time the first instance is active; and control the privacy of the first user in accordance with the second set of privacy settings each time the second instance is active.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first instance of the client application is installed on a first terminal and the second instance of the client application is installed on a second terminal.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second instances of the communication client application are installed on a same terminal.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising: receiving an identifier of which instance of the first instance and the second instance is currently active, the first instance associated with a first identifier, the second instance associated with a second identifier; mapping the received identifier to the corresponding privacy settings stored by the computer; and controlling said privacy in dependence on the mapped settings.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein a respective data storage unit on each of the first and second terminals is used to provide local privacy settings for each of the first and second instances.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein one or more second servers operate a partner communication system implemented over the packet-based network, the partner communication system providing an additional communication medium in conjunction with the first packet-based communication system, and wherein said second instance of the client application is associated with the partner communication system.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first instance of the client application is installed on a first terminal and the second instance of the client application is installed on a second terminal; and wherein said one or more second servers comprise at least said second terminal, and the second terminal is used to provide access to the first communication system via the partner communication system.

20. A system comprising: at least one processor; and one or more computer-readable storage medium devices comprising processor-executable instructions configured so as, responsive to execution by the at least one processor, to: provide a first instance of a communication client application, associated with a user, to a first user terminal of a packet-based network, the communication client application configured so as, responsive to execution on the first user terminal, to enable the user to communicate, via the first instance of the communication client application, with other users over the packet-based network; provide a second instance of the communication client application, associated with the user, to a second user terminal of the packet-based network for use by said user, the communication client application configured so as, responsive to execution on the second user terminal, to enable the user to communicate, via the second instance of the communication client application, with other users over the packet-based network; and store, at the system, separate privacy settings for each of the first instance and second instance effective to: maintain, at the system, different privacy settings for each of the first instance and second instance; control the privacy of the user in accordance with the separate privacy settings for the first instance in relation to said other users each time the first instance is active; and control the privacy of the user in accordance with the separate privacy settings for the second instance in relation to said other users each time the second instance is active.